S potlight on innovation
A TECHNOLOGY REVIEW CUSTOM SERIES
Storage: The Key to Clean Energy’s Future
As the energy and transportation sectors of the United
are making key innovations in storage technology to
States economy begin to show signs of renewal and
help propel the sectors forward.
transformation, how to store energy better remains an important national issue. U.S. Department of Energy
Improvements in Solid-State Batteries
Secretary Steven Chu, testifying before the Senate in
In his 2011 State of the Union address, President
early 2010, focused on the need to create the storage
Obama reiterated his goal of having a million electric
that can support an advanced energy grid, renewable
cars on the road by 2015. In order to help meet that
power, and electric vehicles.
aim, the French multinational Saft, one of the top bat-
He also testified that “a battery that can last for five
tery makers in the world, is opening a new $200 mil-
thousand deep discharges and has four to five times high-
lion manufacturing plant in Jacksonville, FL to build ad-
er storage capacity and lower cost will lead to large-scale
vanced lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries for hybrid vehicles,
penetration of hybrid electric and all-electric vehicles.”
aviation, and renewable energy sources. The new plant
ARPA-E, the DOE’s advanced research project for en-
will employ 300 workers and will produce about $300
ergy, is devoting more than $400 million in grants to the
million worth of batteries per year.
development of energy technologies, including the bat-
Jim McDowall, business development manager for
teries needed for storage of electrical energy. In March
Saft America, says the company’s batteries have already
2011, U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced a re-
proved to be successful in these applications, particularly
search partnership with ARPA-E. “One of the things that
so far in the military context. The main goal now is to in-
holds us back is our [in]ability to store energy,” Mabus
crease production and reduce their cost, which will make
told the 2011 MIT Energy Conference in his keynote ad-
the batteries more attractive for the civilian market, nota-
dress. Florida companies understand this potential and
bly for energy storage.
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STORAGE: THE KEY TO CLEAN ENERGY’S FUTURE
do, FL-based Planar Energy. “The process is slow, and it’s historically only been used for very small surface areas.” Faris licensed the solid-state battery technology developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratories and combined it with a technology developed in Florida, working with a team of Florida researchers to improve that technology. The new Planar System, based on a rollto-roll system, provides a significant reduction in the cost of manufacturing the batteries. “We’ve developed both the process [in Florida] and the battery technology itself,” says Faris. “We’ve been able to create a whole new class of materials and apply that to energy storage.”
Lab technician Binh Tran displays
Planar Energy recently won a $4 million Department
a cathode deposited via Planar Energy’s proprietary technology.
of Energy award under ARPA-E to develop and manufacture the new solid-state batteries, which Faris says can
In a similar move, Bren-Tronics, based in New York, is
be made for half the cost of the current li-ion technology
also opening a rechargeable battery manufacturing plant,
while offering triple the performance. “When we won the
primarily for military applications but also for industrial
grant, we not only showed that we could make a battery
uses, just southwest of Jacksonville in Gainesville, FL.
that people wanted, but [that] in parallel we’d developed
Li-ion batteries are currently the technology of choice
a manufacturing methodology that would allow it to be
for hybrid and electrical vehicles. There are, however, a
done at a significantly reduced cost,” says Faris.
number of limitations to this technology, including the en-
Planar Energy is expanding its facilities to demonstrate
ergy density (the amount of energy stored, which affects
that the technology works, creating first small cells, and
the length of the time the battery can be used before it
then larger cells that can power automobiles or provide
needs to be recharged), and the life span of the battery,
storage for renewable energy. Faris predicts that within a
since the chemical reactions in the battery eventually
year, the company will be able to demonstrate the tech-
damage the cathode.
nology in automobile-sized batteries.
Many battery experts believe that the batteries of the
Florida, he says, provided an ideal location for the com-
future will be solid state, because solid-state batteries
pany, in particular because of the legacy of the semi-
are, in theory at least, more stable, have a longer life,
conductor business in the state. “Some of the research
and can be made smaller for the same amount of power
centers created are still in existence and have focused
density. Today’s solid-state batteries, however, are prohibi-
efforts on clean tech,” says Faris, “such as the Center for
tively expensive to manufacture.
Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) at
“Using [existing manufacturing] processes could cost as
the University of Central Florida, which is now very much
much as a thousand times more” than the equivalent li-ion
a player in solid state lighting and solar power materials
batteries, says entrepreneur Scott Faris, founder of Orlan-
development. We also benefit from the materials charac-
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STORAGE: THE KEY TO CLEAN ENERGY’S FUTURE
terization infrastructure [in the state] to support us.” Faris partnered with a team of UF researchers including Kevin Jones, former chair of the department of materials science and engineering, to test Planar’s batteries. Jones says that he and his colleagues are characterizing Planar’s materials, “trying to understand the fundamentals so they can go off and make a better battery. The potential is tremendous,” says Jones.
Flat Power On February 14, MasterCard and Symantec Corporation announced a new credit card with advanced security features for the U.S. market. Existing card security relies on short numeric codes, but that number, like the card number itself, can be easily stolen and used for internet purchases. The new cards feature a display that generates single-use passwords synchonized with an algorithm housed at MasterCard. The card’s new display and mini electronic system is
Source: Solicore
supported by Lakeland, FL-based Solicore’s paper -thin
cess used by credit card manufacturing companies. Cards
battery technology.
are formed by hot lamination, where plastic is put into a
Solicore was founded in 2001, and the company’s
press and melted with extreme pressure and high tem-
founders noticed that the market needed new technol-
peratures. The battery had to be able to survive these ex-
ogy to power displays like those on credit cards. But no
tremes, and it now operates at temperatures up to 135 °C
existing product was thin and flexible enough to be em-
and 225 pounds of pressure.
bedded into a card. Coin-shaped batteries are too bulky
The new MasterCard is the first major card in the Unit-
for a card’s profile, and they lack the needed flexibility.
ed States to offer the single-use security coding powered
With the help of a team of battery experts, company
by Solicore’s thin, flexible battery. This technology was
researchers developed a lithium battery where the anode
first used in credit cards in Europe and Asia. The product
and cathode are separated by a (proprietary) thin layer.
was on the market by 2005, and by 2008 the company’s
“It’s coated on, and it looks as if it’s solid, but it can bend
manufacturing capability had increased from a few thou-
and flex,” says Dave Eagleson, vice president of sales. “It
sand batteries per day to more than 2.5 million a month.
sits almost like a sponge between the two materials and
As battery-powered credit cards take off, Solicore also
allows energy to move freely between the two sides.”
sees opportunities in the medical-sensor sector. In one
One of the challenges in developing the technology, be-
application, where Solicore has partnered with Laerdal, a
yond the need for flexibility, was the manufacturing pro-
battery-powered card will aid in CPR: “Laerdal is a world
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STORAGE: THE KEY TO CLEAN ENERGY’S FUTURE
leader in CPR training,” explains Eagleson. “They’ve created a credit card-sized device that can be placed on a person’s chest” that contains technology to judge depth and compression frequency. He continues, “As you’re pushing down, the card measures compressions and senses how far each one has dropped, and gives you an indication if you’re doing it correctly.” The card can also aid in measuring the success of continuing training for CPR workers such as EMT doctors and nurses, replacing classroom-based refresher training. Eagleson adds that Solicore’s battery is being used in a smart bandage, a type of medical patch, with a time-
Source: City Labs
based sensor that could instruct the patch as to the appropriate time to deliver a particular medication. This en-
class of security. Those keys are backed up on the ve-
trance into medical technology could help the company
hicle, and that backup operates on battery power. Coin-
boost its Florida-based personnel and manufacturing.
cell batteries have been used in the past, but they fail quickly because of the massive temperature swings
Betavoltaic Batteries
that confront a plane that flies at 40 thousand feet and
Current chemical batteries have a number of limita-
minus 60 °C, and then lands in the desert’s broiling
tions, including their short lifespan and the limited
heat.
range of temperatures and pressures at which they
Though City Labs did not win that particular small
can function. Peter Cabauy of City Labs in Homestead,
business innovation research grant, its company re-
FL, which was founded in 2005 and first housed within
searchers decided to develop just such a battery, based
Florida International University’s technology incubator,
on betavoltaic technology, anyway. Betavoltaic batter-
discovered these limitations when he and his cofound-
ies operate via radioisotopes: like photovoltaic cells,
ers looked into starting a new technology company in
beta-voltaic batteries absorb radiation, but instead of
south Florida.
sunlight, the radiation comes from a physical source
The founders researched the federal government’s
that emits electrons.
small business innovation research grants and discov-
“In hot, cold, rain, shine, the fuel is always work-
ered an unmet need for a long-life power source, a
ing; it’s always emitting electrons,” says Cabauy. “It
battery that supplies small amounts of power and that
can withstand temperature swings and could last for
can withstand major temperature ranges and last for
20 years.”
decades. The military needs such batteries, to take one
The idea of radiation-powered batteries has been
example, on unmanned aerial vehicles; all information
around since the 1950s, but previous attempts used ra-
that is exchanged between the base and UAV must be
dioisotopes with high energy, explains Cabauy, and the
encrypted, and the crypto-keys demand the highest
electrons destroyed the semiconductor. Instead, City
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STORAGE: THE KEY TO CLEAN ENERGY’S FUTURE
“Conventional batteries [in a sensor] would have to be implanted every six months, but the tritium battery can last decades.”
Hydrogen Power
Labs focused on tritium as a radiation source, since
cells in transportation.
Hydrogen-powered fuel cells are used today for select energy needs, primarily in buildings and for backup power. California is starting to roll out hydrogen-powered vehicles, and Chinese authorities are offering rebates on cars and buses that operate using fuel cells; these hint at the enduring possibility of the use of fuel
tritium—one of the most benign radioisotopes—is al-
Daniel Betts, director of the West Palm Beach, FL-
ready used to emit radiation to power the phosphores-
based EnerFuel, sees the possibility that fuel cells might
cent glow in divers’ waters and exit signs (though the
serve to support lithium-ion batteries in vehicles, rather
signs are not battery-powered).
than to compete with them in the marketplace. Ener-
“[With tritium], the beta electrons are the least
Fuel, a division of the energy solutions company Ener1,
powerful, and a sheet of paper could stop them,” says
has focused its research on a synergistic technology
Cabauy. “That’s great for safety, but it’s difficult to get
that pairs fuel cells with batteries; the fuel cell sips at re-
that energy converted in a semiconductor. We had to
newable fuel such as biodiesel and then supplies power
work on getting the efficiency up.” From 2006 through
to the battery.
2008, the team focused on developing the semi-con-
This could prevent what’s known as “range anxiety”
ductor structure, and then achieved the appropriate
for drivers of electric vehicles, because the battery can
regulatory licenses that certify the product’s safety,
be recharged when necessary by the small fuel cell on
and are needed to allow anyone, without prior radiation
longer drives. Such recharging both reduces the need
training or licensing, to buy the product.
for fuel and potentially lengthens the battery’s life. The
Source: E2I
City Labs originally partnered with Lockheed Martin
pairing could also obviate the need for an extensive net-
in Florida to develop this technology. Lockheed Martin
work of recharge stations. “This could provide a whole
was interested in its military applications and tested
new set of options,” says Betts, adding that the technol-
the batteries from minus 50 °C to 150 °C.
ogy could also be useful for distributed stationary power generation using renewable fuels.
In December 2010, the company was awarded a con-
A number of different prototypes have demonstrated
tract worth nearly $1 million from the U.S. Air Force
the fuel cell-battery technology, and now EnerFuel engi-
Research Laboratory for its tritium-based batteries. Beyond military applications, City Labs sees poten-
neers are testing the systems in various real-world situ-
tial medical applications. “One company is looking at
ations and environments and are finalizing the manufac-
monitoring tumor regrowth. Conventional batteries [in
turing designs.
a sensor] would have to be implanted every six months,
One challenge for today’s fuel cells is that they remain
but the tritium battery can last decades,” says Cabauy.
too expensive for widespread use, in part because they
The company is currently expanding its manufacturing
rely on prohibitively costly platinum catalysts. To deal
in the Miami area.
with this, Jim Zheng, a researcher at Florida State Uni-
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STORAGE: THE KEY TO CLEAN ENERGY’S FUTURE
versity’s Center for Advanced Power Systems, designed
num,” says Bing Energy’s vice president Richard Hen-
a membrane made of carbon nanotubes that could re-
nek. He points out that the technology allows the new
duce the need for platinum in the catalyst.
fuel cells to increase performance by 40 percent and du-
These membranes, say Zheng, are highly conductive
rability by 25 percent, all at a cost reduction approaching
and can reduce the amount of platinum needed, allow-
60 percent.
ing it to be placed exclusively in smaller areas where
In February, Bing Energy announced that it is moving
it will be the most effective, using a method that al-
the company’s world headquarters to Tallahassee to de-
lows more of the reactive platinum surface area to be
velop and commercialize the research. The company is
exposed. Zheng points out that the membrane is also
in the process of scaling up its technology and volume
thinner and lighter than current fuel-cell components,
of production, and will be selling fuel cell components in
reducing the size of fuel cells that will be required in the
the first half of 2011. Bing Energy is also a subcontrac-
future.
tor to the University of Central Florida and Florida State
The fuel cells fall within a class known as polymer
University on a Department of Energy grant to develop
electrolyte membrane fuel cells, which were developed
a 500 watt fuel cell stack.
originally for the military and aerospace applications.
“The breakthrough research and the company’s de-
Bing Energy was formed to commercialize Zheng’s pat-
cision to come to Florida confirm that the investment
ented technology, and recently entered an exclusive
made in their work by our state and the federal govern-
partnership with FSU to develop the fuel cells.
ment has realized its commercial potential,” concluded
“His discoveries offer tremendous breakthroughs in
Eric Barron, president of Florida State University, in a
performance, in durability, and in the reduction of plati-
recent press release.
Florida’s Cleantech Cluster Florida is an emerging hub for advanced battery manufacturing and has wide ranging strengths in fuel cell, hydrogen, and supporting electronics and energy storage technologies. Ranked #3 in cleantech businesses, Florida is on the leading edge of cleantech innovation. With abundant natural resources, worldclass talent, a favorable business climate and a large market for cleantech products, Florida offers ideal conditions for the industry’s development. To learn more about expanding your cleantech business in Florida, contact Enterprise Florida, the state’s official economic development organization, at 407.956.5600; or visit www.eflorida.com/cleantech. “Spotlight on Innovation” is a multi-part series highlighting the technologies that are changing the ways in which business is done in the cleantech, life sciences, infotech and homeland security clusters. The series is produced by Technology Review’s custom publishing division in partnership with Enterprise Florida. www.technologyreview.com/spotlight Copyright (c) 2011 Enterprise Florida, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The content of this report may not be reproduced in any way without the express consent of Enterprise Florida, Inc.
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